Dualism: 2 (Archon Sequence)

Jonathan Knox is one of the countrys most sought-after management consultants not least for his uncanny skill at intuiting the solution hidden in the noise. Blessing though it may be to his clients Knoxs so-called pattern-matching ability began as a curse born of a nightmarish long-ago bad trip. Even after all these years flashbacks still haunt his dreams. Or did until recently when something new came into his life: For through no fault of his own Knox has blundered into a relationship with --Marianna Bonaventure an Energy Department agent charged with keeping track of nuclear proliferation risks ... from behind a desk. Her only foray into fieldwork so far was the mission where she first teamed with Jon Knox the one where theyd ... well between the two of them theyd sort of saved the world. Now shes on another case with Jon investigating the disappearance of billionaire Davoud Ansaris daughter Fatimah. Its far less earth-shattering than last time she thinks but weird all the same especially since their co-investigator is --Nietzsche an artificial intelligence built by Ansaris company Psyche Industries. Nietzsche may be the first machine in the world to attain consciousness albeit at a terrible price. But Nietzsche is also a machine with a secret agenda -- one involving the kidnapping investigation he is conducting with Knox and Marianna. Yet not even Nietzsche suspects that the real danger will only emerge once theyve cracked the case and brought Fatimah safely home.Hamza Nassiri is the author of that danger: A deep-cover agent for Irans feared Quds Force posing as Psyche Industries security chief Hamza is laboring in secret to undermine the MERGE an intelligence analysis capability of unthinkable power. Before it comes on line he must use Fatimah Ansari to bring down MERGE and the country along with it.